Sports

Friday, June 27, 1997

Little Leaguers host Alpine Sunday

Skip to next storyPECOS, June 26 -- The Pecos Little League All-Stars will open 1997
District 4 Tournament play at home Sunday afternoon with a 5:30 p.m.
game against Alpine at Chano Prieto Field.

It's the earliest-ever tournament opener for District 4, and will be
followed on Monday by the opening game for Pecos' Senior League
All-Stars. Pecos' Junior League All-Star team will wait until next
Thursday to play their first game.

Alpine joined District 4 two years ago, and have had success at the
Senior League level, beating out Pecos for the title last year after
losing in the finals two years ago. They haven't done as well at the
11-12 year old level, but Little League coach Lee Serrano said Thursday
that Pecos will have to improve on its practice efforts in order to win
on Sunday.

"We're a little sloppy right now, but we had been doing good until
today," he said, after a Wednesday scrimmage against the Junior League
team. "Of course we started practice early today, at 6 o'clock, and they
may have been a little flat."

Serrano said Matthew Levario, the only returning player from last year's
All-Star squad, is the probable pitcher on Sunday, "but that's subject
to change. ... We played a little series against the Junior Leaguers
yesterday and I was impressed with Barney (Rodriguez). He held them
off-stride."

Serrano said the team has hit well in practice. "We've got some good
hitters up there. Little David Elkins has really been impressing me."

The winner of the game will go to either Big Lake or Crane for their
second round contest on Tuesday, while the loser will play Wednesday at
either Crane or Big Lake.

Pecos' Senior League team will host Ozona in their opener, set for 7
p.m. Monday. The Senior's could play all their tournament game at home
if they can go through the double-eliminated tournament undefeated. The
winner Monday will host Alpine or Big Lake on Wednesday, while the loser
hosts Alpine or Big Lake on Thursday.

Holyfield looks to bully Tyson

Skip to next storyBy TIM DAHLBERG
AP Sports Writer
LAS VEGAS, June 26 -- The bell sounded to end the first round, and Mike
Tyson threw a right hand to Evander Holyfield's head. Before the referee
could break them apart, Holyfield answered with a late left hand of his
own.

The fight was only minutes old, but Holyfield had set the tone. He
would not be intimidated by the fearsome Tyson, before or after the
bell.

``Your's the bully in there,'' trainer Don Turner told Holyfield in the
corner after the round ended. ``He ain't the bully.''

Saturday night, Holyfield must be the bully again if he is to do for a
second time what most thought would be impossible when he stopped Tyson
in the 11th round last November to win the WBA heavyweight title.

``I have to force my will upon him. I have to make him fight my
fight,'' Holyfield said. ``He knows he can't fight going backwards. So
the main thing is to press forward.''

In a fight that offers staggering riches to both boxers, Holyfield
might be right in that it comes down to one surprisingly simply
equation: The fighter who can impose his will on the other man in the
ring will walk out with the victory and the title.

Holyfield is guaranteed $35 million and Tyson expected to make some $30
million in a fight that could take in $130 million in ticket and
pay-per-view sales. It will be televised on pay-per-view, beginning
about 11:30 p.m. EDT from the MGM Grand Garden.

For Holyfield, though, this one's not so much about money as about
pride.

``I want to show everyone that first win wasn't a fluke,'' he said.
``I'll put my heart and soul in this fight. There will be no excuses.''

The oddsmakers still aren't convinced, making Holyfield a 2-1 underdog,
though the odds were narrowing as bettors flocked to put money on the
champion.

Neither is Tyson, whose career and place in boxing history could ride
on whether he can figure out a way to get inside the counter-punching
Holyfield and land enough big punches to win.

``I'm going to do pretty good Saturday night,'' Tyson said. ``He's not
going to have the championship Saturday night.''

Tyson's prefight mental state could be questioned, however, after his
camp lost a bid to have Mitch Halpern ousted as referee. The Nevada
Athletic Commission voted 4-1 Thursday night against the request of
Tyson's co-managers to replace Halpern, who refereed the first fight.

``Mike Tyson is totally, totally convinced this man cannot be fair with
him in this fight,'' co-manager John Horne told the commission. Horne
said Tyson might not be ``psychologically prepared'' to have the same
man who stopped the first fight in the ring in the rematch.

Party thrown by Spurs for Duncan's arrival

SAN ANTONIO - Tim Duncan has made his debut in San Antonio - at a
lively street party and pep rally in front of the Alamo.

It only made him more eager to start making his mark in the NBA with
the Spurs.

``To be accepted like this coming in here gives me a great feeling for
this city and how much it loves basketball,'' Duncan said. ``All this
excitement, all this focus on me, I'd rather be out there on the
court.''

The Spurs used the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft on Wednesday to select
Duncan, a 6-foot-10 center from Wake Forest.

Duncan was the consensus player of the year and was twice a firstteam
All-American. He averaged 20.8 points, a national-best 14.7 rebounds and
3.3 blocks per game his senior year.

``It's party time, fiesta time. We're happy to have him here,'' said
Gregg Popovich, Spurs coach and general manager.

Duncan said he hopes to be a big contributor in the Spurs' quest to
return to NBA title contention.

The Spurs envision Duncan as part of a powerful front line featuring
seven-time All-Star David Robinson, whom the Spurs drafted in 1987, the
last time the team had the top pick.

Asked by a reporter who would take the final shot in a tight game,
Duncan looked at Popovich and replied diplomatically: ``The guy with the
ball?''

``I just hope that I can do the best that I can to improve this team,''
Duncan said. ``I have to go in there and be a rookie and see what comes
... and be my best and do my best.''

San Antonio suffered through a franchise-worst 20-62 season this past
year as the 7-1 Robinson missed all but six games with back and foot
injuries. He has been working out with weights and on the basketball
court and is expected to return healthy this fall.

Pecos EnterpriseMac McKinnon, PublisherDivision of Buckner News Alliance, Inc.324 S. Cedar St., Pecos, TX 79772Phone 915-445-5475, FAX 915-445-4321e-mail: news@bitstreet.comAssociated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. Neither these AP Materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and non-commercial use. The AP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing.